Financial pressures on Essex Police are not to blame for recent violent crimes in Colchester, the Home Secretary insists.

Theresa May was speaking during a visit to the town on Friday night.

By 2016, Essex Police will be working with a budget £76million per year lower than in 2010, with hundreds of officers’ jobs at risk.

Mrs May said: “All police forces have had to make cuts, but crucially they have responded well and we see that across the county.

“Crime is falling and I think that shows it is not just about what you spend, but how you spend it."

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